Pictures I have of 1600-2, 2002 cars point toward a mid January '69 date. It is, however, not cast in stone looking at pics that sometimes are not the best. VIN 1567693 (3 Jan '69 build) has no VIN steering VIN tag, 1567736 (28 Jan '69 build) has one. 1664328 (early Dec '68 build) no tag, 1664695 (late Jan build) has a tag. For sure the tag was present from at least mid/late Jan '69.
Naturally, if someone has an '02 manufactured in late '68 that has a valid VIN tag on the steering cover, then I pass.